My regular readers might have noticed my blogging silence over the last fortnight – that’s because as a family we’ve been away adventuring! We spent 12 days away; covering 1500 miles and camping in the Lake District in England and in the heart of the Cairngorms in Scotland.
I’ve plenty of adventure stories to share with you and a few recipes, but I’ve been really excited to share this particular recipe with you all.
My husband celebrated a birthday while we were camping in the Lake District, so I wanted to make him something special. It didn’t matter that we were in the forest surrounded by glorious trees and only had a camp-fire (and gas ring) to cook with. In our household if there is a birthday a cake is most certainly required.
An online search brought up recipe after recipe for gorgeous well-photographed chocolate cakes cooked in oranges and every single one of these recipes used a boxed cake mix. I’m very sorry, but if a “recipe” includes a boxed cake mix then it is not a recipe, in my humble opinion. I did, however, like the thick-skinned orange idea to bake the cake in.
So I set to work.
I adapted my gluten-free chocolate mug cake for outdoor camp-fire use, preparing all the dry ingredients in advance and storing them in a securely lidded plastic container just large enough to add the egg, juice and oil. On the birthday boy’s day, I hollowed out two oranges, prepared the batter, wrapped the oranges in foil and baked them in the embers at the side of the fire.
It was a resounding success! The cakes rose beautifully and they were deliciously moist with a lovely hint of orange flavour throughout. Although the outside of the orange skin was scorched (added visual appeal!) the cake inside was of the perfect cake consistency. My husband was most impressed as we ate our still-warm cakes with squirty cream left over from the raspberry meringue nests we’d eaten the day before (kept cool in an icebox).
This recipe makes two generous camp-fire cakes, but if there are more in your party I’m sure it would scale up just fine.
Chocolate Orange Campfire Cake
Ingredients
- 4 tbsp self-raising flour
- 3 tbsp dark muscovado sugar
- 2 tbsp cocoa powder
- 1 tbsp skimmed milk powder
- pinch sea salt
- 1 tbsp orange juice
- 1 tbsp sunflower oil
- 1 medium egg
- 25 grams dark chocolate chopped
- 2 large oranges with thick skins
- squirty cream to serve (optional)
Instructions
- Before you leave home for your camping trip, mix together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, salt and skimmed milk powder in a small plastic container.
- Cut off the tops of your oranges, about an inch from the top to make a flat lid.
- Over a bowl, carefully scoop out the flesh of the oranges. This will be a juicy mess, but try and reserve as much of the juice as possible. Wash and dry the oranges.
- Mix the orange juice, sunflower and egg with the dry ingredients.
- Stir in the coarsely chopped chocolate and spoon the mixture into the prepared oranges, filling each about 2/3 full.
- Wrap each orange loosely in aluminium foil, taking care to keep the oranges upright.
- Place your wrapped oranges on the edge of your camp-fire, out of direct flame but close enough to the embers to the cakes will bake.
- After 25 - 30 minutes remove the cakes from the heat and carefully unwrap. You should see cooked cake peeking out between the orange bowl and lid. Leave to cool for 15 minutes before peeling off the lid.
- Eat as it is or with squirty cream kept cool in an ice box.
Notes
You might also like:
Grilled Celeriac and Apple Cake with Apple Ice Cream and Salted Bourbon Butterscotch Sauce by Veggie Desserts. If you’re a fan of the whole chocolate orange flavour combo, you might also like these chocolate orange muffins from The Hedgecombers.
Mum of three, daydream adventurer, OU Life Sciences graduate, occasional crafter, ex-pat Canadian & quite possibly Britain's most northerly food blogger.
Kt says
Just to let you know, I just made this and it turned out great! My son felt like he had a birthday despite the fact we forgot to take his present with us!
Elizabeth says
Oh thank you so much for making me smile today, and happy birthday to your son! 🙂
Paul Wilson says
Great idea. Love it!
Icing images says
Great idea for cake.Chocolate Orange Camp-fire Cake is now my favorite for camping 🙂
jackie chapman says
This is awesome! I can’t wait to try it on our next camping trip!
Paul Wilson says
Great idea.
Johanna GGG says
what a great birthday treat – going camping and having your cake too – and that cake sounds amazing – my mum used to make damper in the coals of the campfires we had on bush outings and it always tasted amazing but this is more complex and more impressive (and who wants a box of cake mix when it takes so little extra work to do it from scratch)
Vohn McGuinness says
That is genius Elizabeth I love it! Recipe makes two – does that mean the kids didn’t get any??? 😉
Elizabeth says
They didn’t, I’m afraid! I thought there would be enough batter to fill four oranges, so I hollowed out four and it turned out there was only enough for two. They were happy enough with the bag of marshmallows I gave them to roast over the open fire, so it was ok. 🙂
Southwarkbelle says
Genius! What a great idea, will be trying this out on the campfire. We always do chocolate button stuffed bannanas so this will make a nice change.
Elizabeth says
Ooh let me know what you think of it if you do try it. Chocolate button stuffed bananas are awesome too 🙂
Heather Haigh says
Amazing and fabulous. I would never, in a million years, have thought of baking a cake in an orange, in a fire!
Elizabeth says
I thought it was a rather clever thing too when I saw it on Pinterest!
Jen @ Blue Kitchen Bakes says
This is such a clever idea, well done for coming up with such a lovely treat for your husband.
Elizabeth says
Thanks Jen, glad you like the look of it 🙂
Michelle @ Greedy Gourmet says
How quaint! I’m always in awe of some people’s inventiveness because I never would have thought of this creation myself. You pulled it off as well!
Elizabeth says
Aw thanks Michelle! The orange idea itself isn’t mine but the recipe inside is. Every recipe I found online used a boxed cake mix – terrible!!
Keep Calm and Fanny On says
Wow! This looks amazing… I’m just back from a camping trip in the wilds of Northern Scotland too, this would’ve been perfect! Next time… Thanks!
Elizabeth says
Ooh where have you been? How was it? Do let me know what you think of this recipe if you do make it
Jacqueline Meldrum says
What a fabulous recipe. Happy Birthday to the hubby Elizabeth. I too think that a recipe using cake mix is not a recipe and just plain horrid.
Oh and here in the UK we do call it tin foil, even if it’s not made of tin any more, so no need to alter. I notice Jude is from Australia, so it is probably called something different there, but you are correct to call it tin foil while living in the uk.
Elizabeth says
Thanks Jacqueline! Glad to hear I’m not alone with the cake mix aversion! When I first moved to the UK my new friends drilled the correct pronunciation of aluminium into my head, so I’m quite surprised tin foil snuck out!
Jan Bennett says
Wow they look amazing – a brilliant idea!
PS: Love the Lake District sounds like you had a great time.
Elizabeth says
Thanks Jan 🙂 Yes, we did have a fantastic time – I’ve a blog post to write up all about it as soon as I get a chance!
Kat (The Baking Explorer) says
This is such a clever and resourceful idea, they look great too! I completely agree about boxed cake mixes, I do get frustrated when “recipes” include them! Thanks for entering these into Treat Petite 🙂
Elizabeth says
Thanks Kat 🙂 So glad I’m not alone in the boxed cake idea. Thanks for hosting such a great challenge!
Kate @ Veggie Desserts says
I LOVE this!!! I’m so trying this. Brilliant idea!
Elizabeth says
Ooh let me know what you think if you do try it! 🙂
Sally - My Custard Pie says
What an absolutely brilliant idea – will try this next time I go camping.
Elizabeth says
Thanks Sally, let me know how you get on if you do try it!
Lucy @SupergoldenBakes says
I just *knew* you would come up with a winning recipe for the birthday during camping conundrum! This looks delicious and all the more so for the amazing surroundings and sweet occasion. I hope you had a fantastic time during your holidays – certainly looks like you did!
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Elizabeth says
Thanks Lucy 🙂 He fairly enjoyed his birthday day and the cake – wait til you hear what he got up to on the day (future adventure post!). He said it was the best birthday he’s had since his 21st 😀
Camilla @FabFood4All says
What a fab and frugal cake to male on a campfire – well done for your initiative:-)
Elizabeth says
Thanks Camilla! Once I get a notion I don’t stop until I see it through!
Holly Nelson says
So so clever!! And delicious – well done!!
Elizabeth says
Thanks Holly 🙂 You surely must do a lot of camping where you are in Canada?
Urvashi says
Wonderful idea. I wonder if it would also work in dying embers of a BBQ?
Elizabeth says
Thanks! I would think so, it would just take a little bit longer.
Laura says
How clever and how delicious! I’ve never been camping but if I find myself in the situation I’ll definitely remember this =)
Elizabeth says
You’ve never been camping?!!! This you simply must remedy!!!
sustainablemum says
What a great idea, shame I can’t eat oranges!
Elizabeth says
Oh no! Oranges are so lovely. I wonder what else could be used instead… melons? 🙂
Stuart Vettese says
What a brilliant idea Elizabeth! I can imagine the orange flavour would be a great addition. I call it tin foil too – don’t worry. I call the cereal Golden Grahams, but there is no gold it in to my knowledge!
Elizabeth says
Thanks Stuart, and I’m glad I’m not the only one! 😀
jude says
Amazing!! Just one little whinge though, no such thing as ‘tin’ foil… being the daughter of a metallurgist I had this drummed into me as a child: aluminium foil, or just foil. Sorry to pick nits 😉
Elizabeth says
Duly noted – I shall amend! Can I claim being Canadian as my defence? 😀